The war that pays for itself

Trump says America has time to negotiate with Iran because the war has more than paid for itself. The Pentagon’s estimate of its cost through mid-October is $47.1 billion.

“Whatever we’ve spent, we’ve more than made up for in a place called Venezuela,”

he told reporters Friday. He cited access to Venezuelan oil as compensation for seven months of war. Access to oil, however, is not an accounting of money received or war expenses repaid.

Qatari mediators spent more than 12 hours in Tehran on Friday trying to prevent renewed U.S.-led attacks. Iranian representatives arrived in Doha on Saturday to continue the talks.

A reported draft proposes moving Iran’s highly enriched uranium to an agreed third country or reducing its enrichment level, alongside reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days of an initial understanding.

Reciprocal U.S. sanctions relief and a possible Chinese guarantee are also under discussion. These remain proposed terms.

The negotiators are working through stockpiles, shipping access, and verifiable commitments.

Trump has already settled the financial question. In his account, an oil arrangement in one country reimburses a war in another.

The Pentagon records the expenditure. The president announces the reimbursement without showing the receipt.

#Iran #Trump #Venezuela #WarCosts

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Hamas’s archive goes on air

Hamas’s commanders filmed their meetings. Al Jazeera is now broadcasting the archive. In one underground group photograph, every commander pictured has since been killed by Israel.

Friday’s documentary showed military chief Mohammed Deif, his deputy Marwan Issa, Yahya Sinwar’s brother Mohammed Sinwar, and other commanders meeting in tunnels. It also featured Deif, Yahya Sinwar, and Ismail Haniyeh visiting a rocket workshop, and Deif examining models of Israeli tanks in an operations room.

The network presented what it described as an operational order signed by Deif on Oct. 5, 2023, after a six-hour command meeting. It specified a 6:30 a.m. start for the attack. Another document purportedly recorded a February 2023 decision to begin preparations.

The group photograph predates May 2021, because Bassem Issa, visible among the commanders, was killed that month. [Whatever its framing,] it cannot show the final meeting before Oct. 7. The broadcast also included a Sinwar-Deif call marking the 2021 ceasefire.

The archive gives Hamas’s dead leadership another appearance on screen. It also records something less useful to their memorial, the meetings, weapons production, and orders behind the massacre. The commanders are gone, but their paperwork survives.

#Hamas #October7 #Gaza #AlJazeera

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

A Jewish address becomes a target

Some Orthodox families moved to Florida partly to escape antisemitism in New York. Their new neighborhood attracted anti-Jewish activists before the moving trucks had finished arriving.

Lakefront Estates, near Lake Okeechobee, plans roughly 1,300 homes and apartments, with synagogues, religious schools and a mikvah. About 60 families had moved in by Oct. 25.

Buyers of any background are welcome, the developers say. Far-right activists nevertheless appeared outside to denounce the residents’ Jewish way of life. One declared, “They are not Americans.”

Then came a separate criminal case. Florida investigators arrested Jerry Ray Sneed, 31, accusing him of posting threats against the community along with its location and a photo of a gun.

Investigators say a search recovered the gun in the photo. He faces charges involving threats to kill or conduct a mass shooting.
In California, Ammaad Akhtar, 34, pleaded guilty Friday to attempting to support ISIS. He supplied an undercover agent with loaded guns, ammunition and cash.

Court documents, as reported by [outlet], also describe him surveilling a synagogue and discussing killing a Jewish man he believed had served in Israel’s military.

The intended victims need not share politics, beliefs or any real connection to Israel. When a connection is needed, it can simply be assumed. The target is “the Jew.” The individual becomes irrelevant once the label supplies the address.

#Antisemitism #Florida #California #ISIS

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Deterrence without borders

Iran’s supreme leader has promised retaliation without geographical limits. Neighboring countries have been given no say in the boundaries of their next war.

Mojtaba Khamenei ordered commanders to prepare an “immediate” response to threats, one without “geographic limits,” according to a statement published Saturday on his official Telegram account. He also ordered an updated target list covering U.S. and Israeli “physical and non-physical” assets. The statement names no specific new targets.

Khamenei said Iran would determine the timing and conditions for ending any renewed military or “terrorist” attacks. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia made the regional warning explicit, saying another American intervention would engulf a “much wider geographical area.” Iran has already attacked U.S. assets across the Middle East during the war.

The message arrives as Iranian representatives pursue talks in Doha to prevent renewed fighting. Tehran is negotiating an agreement while advertising the cost of failing to reach one.

Calling this “maximum deterrence,” as [who] did, does not make its geography abstract. American assets sit in other countries, near their infrastructure and populations.

Tehran’s warning tells Washington that another strike could widen the war, and tells Iran’s neighbors that their territory remains available for the reply.

#Iran #Khamenei #GulfSecurity #Diplomacy

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Hormuz could reopen, conditions apply

Iran says it can reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days. First, Washington must accept a package covering sanctions, frozen money, military deployments and where ships may sail.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Qatar’s mediation had shortened the proposed implementation period from seven days to two.

Tehran wants Washington to lift the sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum, restore oil waivers, release frozen funds and reduce U.S. forces.

The shipping clause deserves the closest attention. Iran wants recognition of a route discussed with Oman and the closure of other routes. An Iranian official previously said the proposed corridor would run through Iranian territorial waters on entry and partly on exit. Reopening would therefore bring ships back under a new arrangement, rather than restore their previous passage.

Off Qeshm Island on Saturday, Iranian authorities reported a drone attack on two fishing boats, blaming the United States.

Initial reports described two injured and two missing. Iranian state media later said both missing fishermen had been rescued.

Neither Iran’s account of who struck the boats nor [who]’s claim that the crews were Revolutionary Guard spotters has been independently confirmed.

Ships would return to Hormuz, but Iran wants to decide which way they come in.

#Iran #Hormuz #Shipping #Diplomacy

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Bypassing Israel, sharing the profits

A Gulf-Europe route through Syria would bypass Israel. Some of the investors positioned to collect the fees come from countries that also back the route through Israel. Competing geopolitical visions can share a portfolio.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Saturday that Damascus is discussing entry into the Mecca defense pact linking Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Membership remains under consideration. Syria has acquired no automatic defense guarantee.

The transport plans are more concrete. Turkey and Saudi Arabia are planning a $5.5 billion rail link through Jordan and Syria. It would give Gulf freight another route toward Europe without requiring Israeli transit. Technical studies and missing infrastructure still stand between the announced corridor and through-running trains.

At Syria’s Mediterranean outlets, the concessions are already signed. France’s CMA CGM holds a 30-year concession for Latakia’s container terminal. Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports agreed to acquire a 20% stake in the Latakia operation for $22 million.

Dubai’s DP World has a separate 30-year concession at Tartus, with an $800 million investment program.

France and the UAE also support IMEC, the proposed India-Europe corridor whose planned route includes Israel. Their companies’ commercial presence in Syria complicates the picture of two neatly opposed blocs.

A Syrian corridor could compete with Haifa for future freight.

The immediate advantage belongs to the logistics companies, which are positioning themselves to handle the cargo whichever diplomatic route succeeds.

#Syria #TradeCorridors #IMEC #Gulf

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Trump’s Fortune, America’s Pain 💸🇺🇸

Democrats are turning Trump’s expanding personal wealth into a major weapon ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, arguing that while the president and his allies continue to accumulate fortunes, millions of Americans are struggling with rising prices and mounting household expenses.

The strategy is built around a message that appears to be gaining traction with voters: Washington politicians are getting richer while ordinary families are falling further behind. For Democrats, the issue is no longer simply about political ethics. It is about the direct impact of alleged corruption on the financial well-being of Americans.

Party strategists say polling has revealed an important shift in public sentiment. Voters are increasingly inclined to blame political corruption rather than corporate greed for their economic difficulties. That finding has helped Democrats make government accountability a central theme of their campaign to regain control of Congress.

The timing is significant. Persistent inflation has eroded purchasing power, while the cost of groceries, gasoline, housing and other essentials continues to weigh on household budgets.

Wage growth has struggled to keep pace, leaving many Americans frustrated despite broader signs of economic activity. Democrats argue that the contrast with Trump's financial fortunes is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

His family has expanded its cryptocurrency interests during his presidency, while financial disclosures indicate that Trump generated more than $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures in 2025.

The controversy has also been fueled by questions surrounding the administration's handling of records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump's earlier promises to challenge Washington's powerful interests helped build his political image, but critics say recent developments have raised doubts about that commitment. Democratic campaigns are bringing the message directly to voters. In competitive congressional races, advertisements highlight lawmakers' stock trading, financial relationships with powerful industries and alleged benefits received through political connections.

One campaign slogan captures the strategy: “Their Corruption Is Costing Us.” The White House rejects the accusations, insisting that Trump is fighting fraud, waste and abuse across the federal government.

Administration officials argue that Democrats are ignoring efforts to protect taxpayers and are using corruption allegations for political gain. Republicans are also attempting to turn the issue against Democrats, pointing to disagreements over legislation restricting congressional stock trading.

However, the growing debate over politicians' financial interests is creating challenges for both parties.Recent polling suggests that concerns about corruption extend beyond traditional party lines. Even among Republican-leaning voters, the share who believe Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself has increased.

Democrats currently hold an advantage on the issue in several national surveys.Still, the political impact remains uncertain. Trump's most loyal supporters continue to dismiss allegations against him, arguing that his business background explains his wealth and questioning the financial conduct of Democratic politicians.

For Democrats, the challenge is to convince voters that corruption is not just another Washington scandal, but something that affects the price of everyday life.

With the midterm elections approaching, they are betting that Americans who feel financially squeezed will pay attention to who is benefiting from political power — and who is paying the bill.

#Trump #USPolitics #MidtermElections #PoliticalCorruption

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Freedom of navigation, military escort required

Washington is sending more warships toward Iran while running an oil-shipping operation that much of the private sector still considers too dangerous to use.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the Makin Island amphibious group are expected in the Middle East by late November, bringing roughly 9,000 to 10,000 sailors and Marines, Stars and Stripes reported. The Roosevelt may replace another carrier. Three carriers operating together is possible but not confirmed.

The buildup was first reported in early October. Since then, Washington has been replenishing munitions, preparing combat aircraft and moving a Patriot missile-defense system from Texas to Israel as Trump considers renewed strikes after the midterms.

In Hormuz, the 82nd Airborne Division leads a shipping-protection mission from a joint operations center in the UAE, The Washington Post reports. Aircraft, drones, air defenses and warships provide layered protection. Participating vessels receive crossing instructions, switch off tracking transponders, then transfer cargo to private ships outside the strait.

Most private shipping companies still refuse the passage, even with protection. A Western official described the resulting shuttle operation as “completely unsustainable.”

More firepower gives Trump additional military options. It has not yet made commercial shipping routine again. Freedom of navigation currently requires a military escort and a customer willing to risk the trip.

#Iran #Hormuz #USNavy #Shipping

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Talks about having talks

Qatari mediators spent more than 12 hours in Tehran discussing an agreement. Iran’s foreign minister says his country currently sees no need to meet American officials. The intermediaries are getting plenty of work.

A reported draft framework proposes transferring Iran’s highly enriched uranium to a third country or reducing its enrichment level, alongside reopening Hormuz and reciprocal economic concessions.

No final agreement has been announced. A proposal to move the material is not confirmation that Tehran has agreed to surrender it.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who called Washington’s dialogue offer “a positive step,” says the U.S. must first accept Iran’s conditions.

Among them are restored oil-sales waivers, access to frozen assets and recognition of a shipping route discussed with Oman, with alternative routes closed. He says mediators are discussing cutting the implementation period from seven days to two.

Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei says a newer American response indicates willingness to accept Iran’s seven conditions. Washington has not publicly confirmed that account. Vice President JD Vance’s letter to Rezaei has not been published.

The sequencing dispute remains substantial. According to The New York Times’ account of the Vance letter, Washington wants the nuclear program on the agenda from the outset, while Tehran wants relief from economic and military pressure first.

The opening of Hormuz has a proposed timetable. The opening of negotiations still requires negotiations.

#Iran #Hormuz #NuclearTalks #Qatar

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Democrats Smell Blood as Republicans Fight to Save the House 🗳


The battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives is entering its final stretch with Democrats increasingly confident they can take back the chamber — and Republicans facing a far broader defensive fight than they expected. With Election Day approaching, the political map is shifting in Democrats’ favor.

According to the latest assessments from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, dozens of congressional races are now competitive, including several districts Republicans once considered safely theirs.The math is remarkably simple.

Democrats need a net gain of just three seats to secure a House majority. Republicans currently hold 219 seats, compared with 214 for Democrats, with two vacancies. That narrow margin leaves the GOP with very little room for error.

The political climate is adding to Republican anxiety. High consumer prices, frustration over the war in Iran and Trump’s weak approval ratings have created serious headwinds for candidates trying to defend their seats.

Even traditionally reliable Republican districts are beginning to look vulnerable.Among the races drawing particular attention is Colorado’s 5th District, where Republican Rep. Jeff Crank faces Democrat Jessica Killin, an Army veteran with a strong campaign operation.

In Florida, controversial Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is being challenged by Leela Gray, while María Elvira Salazar faces Democrat Eliott Rodriguez in a district where immigration policy has become a central issue. Ohio is another major battleground. Longtime Republican Rep.

Mike Turner faces a tougher-than-usual contest, while Mike Carey is also fighting to protect his seat. In Wisconsin, Republican Bryan Steil is defending a district that has become increasingly competitive.Open seats are creating additional opportunities.

Republican retirements and decisions by lawmakers to seek other offices have left several districts without incumbents, weakening the party’s traditional advantage. Michigan and Arizona are among the states where Democrats see opportunities to make gains.

Redistricting, meanwhile, has produced an unpredictable political landscape. Republican efforts to redraw congressional boundaries in states including Texas, Florida and North Carolina have not necessarily delivered the safe seats party strategists expected.

In some districts, demographic changes and voter dissatisfaction are making the contests much closer. Pennsylvania could prove especially consequential. Republican incumbents Scott Perry and Brian Fitzpatrick are facing serious Democratic challenges.

Perry, a prominent Trump ally, is running against former television journalist Janelle Stelson. Fitzpatrick faces Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie in a suburban district that narrowly backed Kamala Harris in 2024. New York’s 17th District is another race to watch, with Republican Mike Lawler defending his seat against Democrat Cait Conley.

The district’s narrow support for Harris makes it a prime Democratic target. But the Democratic path is not without risks. Several of the party’s incumbents are defending districts Trump carried in 2024.

Ohio, New Mexico and Washington all feature contests that could test whether Democrats can hold voters who supported the president two years ago. The ideological divide within the Democratic Party also adds uncertainty.

For Republicans, the challenge is equally stark: defend vulnerable incumbents, keep conservative voters energized and persuade swing voters that the party deserves another term in control.

The final map gives Democrats a genuine opportunity to reclaim the House. But favorable ratings are not election results. Turnout, local campaigns and the ability of candidates to connect national frustrations with everyday concerns will determine whether the predicted political shift becomes reality.

#MidtermElections #USPolitics #Democrats #HouseOfRepresentatives

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

The groom’s exemption

Some 230 Haredi men were due to enter noncombat service Sunday. Outside the induction base, protesters tried to stop them. Elsewhere, politicians demanded that military police release a draft evader because he had just married.

Dozens blocked roads outside Tel Hashomer. Police said they were intimidating recruits, while the army said none was prevented from entering. The confrontation exposed a divide the protest leaders prefer to obscure. Some Haredi men are joining, and others are trying to make that choice harder.

Military police arrested Yaari Lieberman on his way with his wife to a sheva brachot celebration, one of the traditional meals held during the week after a wedding. An earlier arrest attempt ended with his release after hundreds of protesters surrounded his building. This time he received 20 days in military detention.

United Torah Judaism lawmaker Meir Porush called the arrest “criminal conduct” that should shock every Jew. Shas asked fellow lawmakers to demand Lieberman’s release so he could resume celebrating.

The legal basis for blanket yeshiva exemptions ended with the Supreme Court’s 2024 ruling. Political leaders have yet to secure a replacement. For now, they are proposing a more personal exception, in which enforcement waits until the wedding festivities are over.

#Israel #HarediDraft #MilitaryService

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

#MikeJohnson #US #GOP #Campaign

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Your vote, our workaround

Trump is campaigning to keep Congress Republican. His aides have spent months preparing to govern around it if voters choose Democrats.

Since April, Stephen Miller, budget director Russell Vought and White House lawyers have been identifying executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing and federal spending, Reuters reports.

Counsel Will Scharf’s team is examining what Trump can legally do alone, where he can stretch his authority and how to defend those decisions in court.

The proposals include tariffs on critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter visa rules and changes giving political appointees more control over federal grants.

Vought is also looking for money Congress has already appropriated, which would let priorities advance without another funding vote.

Democratic control would still matter. The House could investigate the administration. The Senate could block nominees. Courts could stop unlawful executive actions. Losing Congress would constrain Trump, even if it would not stop him from acting alone.
The preparations extend to oversight.

Lawyers have briefed officials on subpoenas and document requests, advised them to watch what they put in writing and sought a Justice Department opinion that could shield communications with private advisers.

The plan runs on two tracks. The White House would keep issuing decisions without Congress and prepare to withhold the conversations behind them. Voters may change who asks the questions. The White House is already working on which answers they get.

#Trump #Midterms #ExecutivePower #Congress

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

#Rubio #Russia #Armsnuclear

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

November’s discount: buy less

Israeli shoppers waited for November’s sales. Many may still leave without what they wanted.

A Histadrut Consumer Authority survey of 501 adults, conducted by Geocartography, found that 68% of respondents postponed purchases to catch November discounts. Yet 44% said their finances would let them buy only some of the products they wanted, or force them to skip shopping altogether.

The waiting extends beyond the checkout. Bank Hapoalim chief markets strategist Modi Shafrir says the election outcome reduces the likelihood of a Bank of Israel rate cut in late November, citing a weaker shekel, a higher risk premium and political uncertainty.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange chief Itai Ben-Zeev says investors want certainty, consistent policy and a clear economic horizon. Households have a less elaborate requirement, enough money left to make a discounted purchase.

Among respondents planning to shop, 63% intended to spend no more than 1,000 shekels.

Retailers can advertise money saved on every purchase. The survey’s less marketable finding is how many people may save by buying less, or nothing at all.

#IsraelEconomy #CostOfLiving #NovemberSales

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

A failure without a traitor

A secret traitor would give some in Israel a convenient explanation for Oct. 7. The country’s former military chief offers something harder to dismiss. The institutions failed at their jobs.

“October 7 was a failure that could have been prevented, but there was absolutely no internal betrayal,”

former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told a Shurat HaDin conference in New York on Sunday.

A conspiracy capable of enabling the attack would require a broad network, he said, and after three years not one collaborator has been found.

Halevi described a mistaken assessment, shared by the military, the Shin Bet and the political leadership, that Hamas did not want war. Israel ranked Iran first, Hezbollah second and Hamas third. Hamas worked hard to reinforce that assessment. The deception succeeded across institutions responsible for detecting it.

Halevi also defended military pressure as necessary to bring hostages home, while acknowledging its lethal consequences.

“Our own bombs killed hostages. Of course, this was not intentional. We did not know they were there,”

he said.
He called for a full inquiry and recalled the photograph of Shiri Bibas, who was abducted with her two young sons and killed in Hamas captivity.

“We were not there in time to help and save her. That is the failure,”

he said.

Halevi commanded the army when that failure occurred. His account belongs before an inquiry, alongside the decisions of the political leadership. Hunting an imaginary traitor would be considerably easier than questioning the actual people in charge.

#October7 #Israel #Accountability

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

The election survives the investigation

Likud declared the election stolen. The judge who ordered the investigation says the results reflect what voters chose and will stand.

Central Elections Committee chairman Noam Sohlberg appeared Sunday alongside Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Shin Bet chief David Zini.

They agreed that even if the foreign-interference suspicions are substantiated, they would not invalidate the electoral process or its overall outcome. The results will be published Wednesday and submitted to President Isaac Herzog unchanged.

Sohlberg authorized the inquiry after reviewing classified intelligence concerning suspected foreign funding intended to influence the election.

A joint Shin Bet, police and prosecution team will investigate. He also said most published reports about the inquiry were incorrect.

Sohlberg drew an explicit distinction. Suspicions require investigation, he said, while overturning election results requires solid evidence.

Arab citizens’ turnout, he said, was an exercise of democratic rights, not grounds for casting suspicion on their votes.

Netanyahu’s bloc finished with 53 seats, eight short of a majority. That parliamentary problem remains exactly where the voters left it.

The investigation can establish whether crimes occurred. It cannot supply the missing seats.

#IsraelElection #Likud #ShinBet

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Victory needs a scapegoat

Trump says the U.S. has already knocked out most of Iran’s military. He is also reportedly looking for someone to blame because the war has not ended.

“The only reason why I’m not finished with Iran is I want to be nice,” he told an Iowa rally Sunday. “I want to try and save all those lives if I can.” Then he added a qualification. “At some point we’re going to have to give them the hammer.”

Netanyahu wants that point to come immediately after Tuesday’s U.S. midterms, Axios reports, citing an Israeli and an American source. During their Saturday call, Trump argued for giving negotiations more time. The Israeli source called the conversation “tough,” and the American source called it “direct.” Trump publicly called it “very good.”

Privately, The Atlantic reports, Trump has been asking allies about Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Both advised him on the war and offered optimistic early assessments. Sources close to Trump told the magazine he is focusing blame on those who promised a short, decisive campaign. The White House says he retains confidence in both men.

No renewed strike order has been announced. For now, Trump is offering voters three explanations at once. Victory has been achieved, the war is unfinished because he is merciful, and the failure to finish may belong to his advisers.

He ordered the war. Responsibility is the part still looking for a commander.

#Trump #Iran #Netanyahu #Midterms

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Bid to Set Aside California Ballots ⚖️🗳


The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration seeking to force California to set aside more than 20,000 mail-in ballots ahead of Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections. The decision marks another legal setback for the White House in its escalating effort to challenge voter eligibility and influence election procedures across the country.

In an unsigned order issued Monday, November 2, the justices declined to intervene in the dispute, leaving lower-court decisions against the administration in place. The court offered no explanation for its ruling, and none of the justices publicly dissented. The Justice Department had argued that California should temporarily separate ballots cast by voters whom federal officials suspected of being noncitizens.

According to the administration, the disputed ballots could no longer be identified once mixed with other votes, making it impossible to verify the eligibility of the individuals who cast them. Federal officials maintained that their database identified thousands of people who might not be U.S. citizens but were nevertheless registered to vote.

They sought judicial intervention before the ballots were counted, arguing that allowing the process to continue would make it impossible to correct potential violations. California officials strongly challenged the federal government's claims, questioning both the accuracy of the database and the legality of the proposed intervention. State authorities argued that the federal lists contained significant errors and could wrongly identify American citizens as ineligible voters.

Independent researchers also raised concerns about the reliability of the information. Their review found that approximately 9,000 names on the federal list did not appear on California's voter registration rolls. Other cases involved personal identifying details that matched individuals who were U.S. citizens.

Opponents of the administration's request warned that separating thousands of ballots based on questionable data could disenfranchise eligible voters and undermine confidence in the electoral process. They also argued that federal authorities were attempting to interfere with election procedures traditionally administered by state governments.

The Supreme Court's decision follows a series of defeats for the Trump administration in lower courts. Federal judges had previously rejected attempts to delay or block the counting of the disputed ballots, citing concerns over the legal basis for the government's demands and the potential harm to legitimate voters. The case has become part of a broader confrontation between the Justice Department and several states over voter registration, election administration and the federal government's authority to challenge voting procedures.

The administration has pursued similar legal challenges elsewhere, seeking access to voter records and questioning the eligibility of individuals identified through federal databases.

Critics argue that inaccurate allegations of widespread noncitizen voting risk creating confusion, intimidating election officials and discouraging eligible citizens from participating. With the midterm elections approaching, Monday's ruling leaves California's election authorities free to proceed without the ballot-segregation order sought by the White House.

#SupremeCourt #DonaldTrump #California #USMidterms

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸

Putin’s attendance victory🤪

Forty-eight African delegations came to Moscow. The Kremlin would like the guest list entered into evidence as the death certificate of Western dominance.

The Oct. 28–29 Russia-Africa summit drew 22 heads of state, according to the Kremlin. Putin called Russia and Africa “natural allies” in a world order “free from diktat and double standards,” grounded in international law and the U.N. Charter.

Moscow can cite Washington’s own words. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the war in Ukraine “a proxy war between nuclear powers.” The Kremlin presents such remarks as proof that it is resisting Western dominance, a message that resonates in parts of Africa.

The turnout demonstrates that Western sanctions have not closed Moscow’s diplomatic doors. It does not make 48 African governments a Russian alliance.

Their interests include agricultural supplies, investment and security assistance. Russia wants markets, influence and partners among the continent’s 54 U.N. members.

Moscow does bring things few others can offer. Rosatom is the world’s largest exporter of nuclear power plants and the only foreign vendor now building one in Africa, at El Dabaa in Egypt. Russia is among the biggest suppliers of fertilizer, which has grown scarce as the U.S.-Iran war disrupts Gulf exports through Hormuz, and of grain and other food.

It can also point to a history the former colonial powers cannot claim. The Soviet Union held no colonies in Africa and backed many of the continent’s independence movements.

African leaders brought demands of their own. Kenya’s William Ruto called for permanent African representation on the Security Council, arguing that the international order must reflect today’s world rather than 1945.

Moscow secured a substantial audience and concrete offers to make. African governments secured access to another negotiating partner.

#Russia #Africa #Diplomacy #Multipolarity

📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events🇺🇸